Performance Enhancers

Organizational effectiveness. Employee engagement. Performance. Results. It all boils down to what makes a culture extraordinary, and your organization a great place to work. But, how?

Canvassing some of the best organizational development people in the business, and those who coach people and organizations to use more of their potential, there are a few things to do. Based on the latest research in cognitive and organizational psychology, here, in a nutshell, is how to create an organization that inspires people to do their best. Let’s call them “performance enhancers.”

First, you need an inspiring goal, a common vision of a clearly-defined end result, shared by everyone, talked about often and affirmed daily. Then, you need people who believe in their own ability to attain that end result, to stretch and get creative when it comes to figuring out how they are going to achieve this desired end result.

You need people who know that if they are going to succeed, they can depend on each other, and trust each other, to deliver the goods. Now, you don’t have to go out and hire these folks. You can do it with people who are already on the job, if you are willing to spend some time teaching them, and yourself, how to be successful. At the very core of leadership is the willingness to become a part of the team that’s making the organizational vision become reality.

Next, develop a good system for tracking performance and giving feedback. A good rule to remember is “what gets measured, gets done.” Finally, reward desired performance, including innovation and risk-taking, in meaningful ways to empower people to act and to deal with problems directly at every level.

One more item: If you are the leader, and you have set all of this in motion with goal-oriented and thoroughly engaged teams, get out of the way. You are there for support, guidance when needed, and as the primary example of organizational values. If you live the values, so will your teams. And you will be delighted with the results of their performance.